[Bronchoscopic examinations in the differential diagnosis of exudative pleurisy]

The status of the bronchial mucosa was examined in 358 patients with exudative pleurisy of different etiology. In 41.1 per cent of the patients, there were bronchial lesions characteristic of each affection. The lesions were the most typical in the patients with pleurisy of cancer and tuberculous etiology and in those with pleurisy developed at the background of nonspecific bronchopulmonary diseases. Endoscopic examination of the patients with pleurisy of the above etiology promoted elucidation of the exudate nature in 86.7 and 10.4 per cent of the cases, respectively. In the patients with other diseases, endoscopy was an auxiliary procedure in the comprehensive examination.